Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the date of Jake Patterson's sentencing.

BARRON - Authorities have called Jake Patterson a “cold, calculated killer” and “one of the most dangerous men" to walk the face of the earth for kidnapping 13-old-old Jayme Closs and murdering her parents in their home in Barron, Wisconsin.

But as much as people might want him locked up and never given attention again, studying Patterson’s violent spree could be worthwhile, criminal justice experts say. The details of his offenses should be included in the nation’s violent crime annals, they say.

“Is he worth studying? I think so,” said Jack Levin, a longtime criminologist and a professor emeritus at Northeastern University in Boston, where he co-directs the university's Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict.

“We really didn’t start studying with any seriousness the worst killers among us until the 1980s. We still don’t really understand where this (behavior) comes from. We’ve made some progress, but we’re very bad at predicting (such violence).

“I think it would be great to know about these people. If you could find one to investigate thoroughly, you could use this to find red flags and warning signs.”

Jayme Closs(Photo: Courtesy of the Barron County Sheriff's Department)

Patterson, who turns 22 this month, was described as "the embodiment of evil" by the judge who sentenced him to life in prison on May 24 with no possibility of parole.

Patterson didn't know the Closs family and had no criminal record in Wisconsin. In the early hours of Oct. 15, he fatally shot James, 56, through a glass pane on the front door of their home and murdered Denise, 46, in front of her only child. He then dragged Jayme to his car and drove her to the rural Douglas County town of Gordon, where he held her for 88 days.

The Patterson case presents an opportunity to increase the base of knowledge about violent offenders, said Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier, a professor of law at City University of New York School.

The challenge, Kirchmeier said, would be gaining a deeper understanding of his mental health and history.

“A lot of law enforcement studies look for patterns, understandably, that might help solve or prevent crimes. But to get a full understanding of the person, as well as any possible mental disorders, would require mental health experts going much deeper.

“One might get a better understanding through family, friends and records going back to Patterson's birth. In addition to time and money for such research, researchers would have the additional challenge that when a subject may have trauma in their early life that affects their behavior, it might not be something that anyone is willing to disclose or talk about.”

The home where teenager Jayme Closs lived with her parents is seen Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, in Barron, Wis. Closs, who went missing in October after her parents were found dead, was found alive Thursday afternoon, Jan. 10 in the small town of Gordon, Wis.(Photo: Jeff Baenen, AP)

Christine M. Sarteschi, associate professor of social work and criminology at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, said there also is something to be learned from Jayme’s courage in escaping from Patterson.

“She fought back and did not give up (and that) says a great deal about her character. As soon as she stopped having worth to Mr. Patterson, he likely would have killed her, and no one might have ever known," she said. "Some serial killers have gone undetected for 20 or 30 years, in part because they are a different type of human being. They are predators who hunt humans, and some are very good at getting away with their crimes.”

Patterson didn’t care about the suffering he was inflicting on Jayme, Sarteschi said.

“He killed her parents, and it meant nothing to him," she said. "It never occurred to him that having killed her parents is something she’d hold against him.”

Kirchmeier said Patterson’s case is worthy of being studied “for seeking a better understanding of — not an excuse for — such crimes. But a superficial analysis would not be as helpful as a real in-depth investigation that is hard to do even in the best of circumstances.”

Deputies escort Jake Patterson to his sentencing May 24 in Barron County Circuit Court. Patterson will serve life in prison in the October 2018 kidnapping of Jayme Closs and the murders of her parents.(Photo: T'xer Zhon Kha/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Jim Trainum, former homicide investigator with the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department, said it's not unusual for cases to be studied.

“There’s active research going on, trying to find out more about these folks,” he said.

Patterson’s behavior could provide key insights, Trainum said.

“At some point down the road, people will find out more about him and his motivations. There are others who have fixated on people randomly. The more we find out, the more it will add to the base of knowledge,” he said.

“To me, (Patterson’s) behavior is not necessarily unique," she said. "Though he has not been officially diagnosed, his behavior appears to be that of a psychopath. He behaved, in my opinion, in the way you would expect a psychopath to behave. If he is, then there is nothing unusual about what he did.

“If there is anything of worth that can be learned from this event, it is to make the public aware of the nature of psychopaths. One out of every 100 people is a psychopath and thus they are not a rarity. From this case, the public could protect themselves by becoming more aware of the danger that exists with psychopathic people.”